In 2014, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) initiated a Play-Based Regulation (PBR) pilot project as a step towards implementation of the Unconventional Regulatory Framework. One of the goals of the PBR pilot is to encourage companies in the unconventional play area to work together on plans for surface development to minimize the numbers of facilities and surface impacts. This data set is one of a series created using earth observation imagery to assess surface change caused by energy exploration. The PBR area extends from Twp. 52, Rge. 7, W 5th Mer. to Twp. 70, Rge. 5, W 6th Mer., covering the towns of Edson, Fox Creek, Mayerthorpe, Whitecourt, Swan Hills, and Valleyview. This quality evaluation dataset was produced for 2006 Landsat data to identify possible misclassified areas due to sensor noise, cloud, haze, and cloud shadow. These areas are assigned to 'bad pixels' or value '1' in the quality evaluation dataset.

This GIS dataset is part of a digital compilation of the bedrock geology of NTS areas 72E, 72L, 73D, and 73E. It is one of the datasets used to produce Alberta Geological Survey (AGS) Maps 567, 568, 569, and 570. This dataset represents the compilation of existing geological maps and original geological mapping by AGS staff. Mapping included field observations and creating three-dimensional models of subsurface stratigraphy based on the interpretation of geophysical logs from oil and gas wells. Each three-dimensional formation surface was projected to a model of the bedrock surface, and the intersection formed the first approximation of the position of the geological contact at the base of the surficial deposits. We adjusted these preliminary contacts to honour outcrop data and the interpretation of the bedrock unit immediately below surficial deposits in individual wells. The data were created in file geodatabase format and output for public distribution in shapefile format. AGS Open File Reports 2010-10 and 2011-13 present additional information on data sources related to this dataset.

Geochemical analytical data are reported for 123 Cretaceous rock samples from northwestern Alberta collected by Alberta Geological Survey (AGS) staff from 2001 to 2005. The values for one repeat analysis are included (5602R), making a total of 124 analytical records. The results include analyses of 57 mudstone, 29 shale, 13 ironstone, 6 pyrite (float), 5 kimberlite (including one till clast) and 5 sandstone (including one bioclastic sandstone) samples. Geochemical analyses were performed by Acme Analytical Laboratories Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia, for a wide range of elements and oxides using the following analytical methods. (a) Method 1EX: four-acid (HF-HNO3-HClO4-HCl) digestion and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) multi-element analyses. (b) Method 1F: aqua regia digestion and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) multi-element analyses. (c) Method 2A: carbonate carbon (CO2), graphitic carbon, organic carbon and sulphate determined using a Leco carbon-sulphur analyzer. (d) Method 4A: fusion-HNO3 digestion and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) analyses except for (i) total C and total S by Leco carbon-sulphur analyzer and (ii) loss on ignition (950 degrees C). (e) Method 4B: fusion-HNO3 digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analyses.

This dataset contains the outlines of the evaluated areas for shale- and siltstone-hosted hydrocarbons in Alberta from the Energy Resources Conservation Board/Alberta Geological Survey Open File Report 2012-06. These evaluated areas are for the following units: - Duvernay Formation, - Muskwa Formation, - Montney Formation, - Basal Banff/Exshaw study area, - North Nordegg study area, and - Wilrich Member. For information on the extent and characteristics of the shale and siltstone units and the overall resource assessment approach see Energy Resources Conservation Board/Alberta Geological Survey Open File Report 2012-06.

The AMDO (Alberta Mineral Deposits and Occurrences) application was created by the Minerals and Coal Geoscience Section of the Alberta Geological Survey as a database for mineral deposits in Alberta in the early 1990s. It was originally released as Open File Report OFR 1991-17. Industrial minerals from that data source have been extracted into Microsoft Access, their locations refined or corrected and presented in GIS format.